Shahryar - Deku and Tsu deserve some happiness, ngl.
MosesArk Reborn2000 - Let's just say that things get very, very differently than anyone expected them.
(***)
As one can and should expect, the Paranormal Liberation Front's assault on the Paragon facilities was best described as a cakewalk.
The facilities were existing away from population centers, secrecy seen as more important than security, nay, paramount even. They were, after all, built in better times. The Era of Peace lived by different rules.
Their secrecy was nothing short of extreme, to be entirely honest about it. Not even the Prime Minister knew where the Paragons were trained. She never wanted to know. She never visited those facilities.
She had people to do that for her. People that she left behind when she exchanged the seat of the head of the Hero Commission to the one of the Prime Minister. They were all working for Mera today.
Perhaps, deep inside, she knew that the whole program was at the very best ethically questionable. She didn't care about it, of course - the country needed as many strong heroes as possible to maintain order if the search for the cure to quirks lasted until the first stage of the Quirk Singularity (the 'quirks too powerful for society') would begin.
Plausible deniability, perhaps? Was it the politician in her that wanted to be able to shout that she didn't know if someone pulled the whole thing to light? Would Yokumiru Mera be happy knowing that if the worst came to occur, the Prime Minister would throw him to the wolves without batting an eye?
Might have been the risk of potential defectors from the program going after whom they perceived as its head. Of course, it didn't stop Lady Nagant from killing the previous head of the HPSC. Then again, he visited the facilities.
The story behind the term 'Sword of Damocles' came to mind. For both Mera and the Prime Minister.
For similar reasons, the Paragons didn't exactly know where they were trained. Oh, they were told the location, just one in rather rough terms. Part of the prefecture (north, west etc.), and that's all.
Naturally, the directions they were given were entirely false.
As a result, the facilities in question were only protected by a relatively small security force. Composed mostly of retired heroes and soldiers. It was supposed to resist a potential riot, not an outside attack. And even in case of a riot, they were supposed to hold their ground for about five minutes. As that was all that the Fast Response Unit needed to arrive.
This time, no help was coming. And for as much as the security was willingly serving a de facto totalitarian regime, there was a large difference between guarding a training facility for young hero candidates and using them as human shields.
Almost none of them were ready for the latter.
The clash was fierce, but mostly short-lived. The PLF arrived in force, committing the majority of their heavy hitters to the assault (although under strict 'please do not kill the wrong people' orders), while the mooks formed a perimeter cordon to make sure that no one could escape.
Like shooting fishes in a barrel.
(***)
Finding out that his suspicions were correct was easy. Eri's group did make sure to end in the 'good kid' facility.
To the absolute detriment of the defenders, who clearly failed to realize that the last batch of children was different from the rest. Eri organized them well. The moment the attack started, everyone was ready.
Doors were blocked to limit the defenders mobility, and the younger children were crowded into rooms in the deepest parts of the facility (where they couldn't be killed if someone's AoE quirk went off-course).
And all of that before something exploded at a few crucial locations, taking down the communication tower and the power line supplying the facility (including its security system) with energy. If he didn't already suspect that Eri was here, that would be enough to change his mind.
The moment the attackers showed up in the vicinity, the kids were fully ready and committed to acting like guides for the villains. They knew the area like the back of their hand, and they were run through the evacuation drills.
They knew what the defenders were going to try. In detail.
It was… distasteful, to Izuku. The defenders were, in their own eyes, trying to defend the children from an attack from violent villains. And they did their best. It's not like abuse would make loyal Paragons, so especially in a facility like this, the kids were treated well.
For many of them, becoming a Paragon was a way of getting out of poverty or general lack of hope for the future.
Some of them were going to refuse to be 'saved' from the ruins of their dream. Some of them were going to hurl expletives at their 'saviors'. Some of them already did, as he passed by them on the way to what was left of the main building.
Midoriya Izuku found that distasteful, as stated. Doing to others something so akin to what pushed him off the edge. But was it going to stop him? No. He would, at this point, do much worse things if it meant getting Eri back.
It was war, after all. If wars were nice, people would wage them more often.
Tsuyu was following him like a shadow. Walking after him didn't stop her from cleaning her knives of blood. She wasn't just a spectator, she took part in the battle. And she was, in Izuku's opinion, incredibly sexy while doing so.
Then things went downhill. And for a lot of people at the same time.
"What do you mean…" Izuku says slowly, trying to not let his intimidation aura out. Despite the emotions raging at him. Because in front of him is a group of kids. A group of kids from Crucible's group. A group of kids he was supposed to save. "... by 'Eri is no longer here'?".
(***)
Four hours.
Izuku is sitting on his couch, the back of his head resting on the couch's backrest. His eyes are on the ceiling. All those cables, grates and pipes that make the Overlook livable. All those things that he is generally keeping out of his mind.
They attacked the facility four hours after Eri left it together with the Shimano siblings and a large security detail.
Help in some scientific endeavor. Chronostasis. He left his laboratory intact because he didn't need Kurono. But he knew that the world needed his research. Mankind avoiding the Quirk Apocalypse was in the interest of everyone involved. Eri included. But now…
Four hours.
If they attacked four hours ago, they'd take her back. If they attacked four days ago, they'd take her back. Midoriya suspected that Mera would increase the security of the Paragon facilities in the wake of the PLF raids and the constant information leakage, so he delayed the attack to give himself time to do a proper reconnaissance, but…
He didn't do that.
Did Mera just… forgot about it? Did he just not care about it? Did he write the Paragon facilities as a loss and didn't reinforce them? Because they simply weren't going to be useful during the Second Paranormal Liberation War?
Who cares about the children that are going to need at least a few years to be pressed into active service, when you're getting pummeled with a speed suggesting that the war will be over (one way or another) in a few months.
Izuku should have foreseen that.
He didn't.
And now Eri was out of his grasp again. And to get her back he'd have to risk endangering what could possibly be Mankind's sole chance of surviving the Quirk Singularity. Sure, there was a chance that someone would find the cure on their own, but…
Overhaul was a genius. A monster, but a genius. Even Doctor Garaki admitted that his work on that particular field was beyond him.
Today, Overhaul was dead. And Chronostasis was their only hope.
"Tsuyu." He says. She is right next to him, of course. She is… dejected. Worried about Eri and terrified of what her fiance might have been going through. Now that she hears him call her, she perks up. "I'm going to have to ask you for something. Something that might sound horrible right after I proposed to you, but…"
"Ribbit?" She let out, leaning closer to him.
"Kill me now, Tsu." He says and he can see Tsuyu freezing in the corner of his eye. "Because if you don't, I'm going to do something horrible."
He genuinely expects a knife to enter his side. Or maybe his throat being slit. Instead, she moves over, sitting on his lap, facing him.
"I said that if you act like Entropy, I'd kill you, ribbit." Tsuyu says, her eyes on him, her fingers stroking the side of his face. "Would Entropy tell someone to stop them from doing something horrible, ribbit? Would she leave herself wide open like that?"
"Tsu, I'm going to extinguish Mankind's hopes of averting the Quirk Singularity." Izuku replies. "If I do, the Twilight of Quirks will never happen. All for a single girl. I'm insane."
"She's our daughter, ribbit." Tsuyu replies. Her face… It always convened sadness so well. "If what you said is insanity, then I'm insane as well. Insane and tired of losing my family again. I didn't even get to meet her, but if you want to make this world burn to set her free, then I'm going to be there with you."
Not what he expected.
Maybe it's all his fault? Maybe it was his presence that made everyone like this? Was he cursed to make everyone close to him into a villain, even back then when he did his utmost to become a hero with them?
"... don't let me corrupt you, Tsu." Izuku says. Does he still hope that she'll change her mind? That she'll end it here and then?
"Which part of going too far for my family is out of character for me, ribbit?" Tsuyu asks, tilting her head a little.
Ten thousand people murdered in a single day. And it's not like the ISP was ever nice about killing people. Corpses hanging on the lampposts, heads on the fences, blood on the streets.
The aftermath of the first battle of the Marukane Ward was horrific. And yes what was going to happen after the encore was going to be so much worse.
"My auxiliary conscience broke." Izuku says dryly. "I might want to demand a refund."
"How about this then, ribbit?" Tsuyu smiles faintly. It's a very sad smile. "I believe in you. I believe that you'll find a way to get her back without the worst happening. And I'll be there to help you with that, ribbit."
"You're the best fiance I could hope for, Tsuyu." Izuku smiles faintly. It's a very sad smile. They mirror each other perfectly. "And you look absolutely sexy when wearing black combat outfit covered with the blood of your enemies, did I ever tell you that?"
"Flirt." Tsuyu pouts a little. "I like it though, ribbit."
That she certainly does.
"I…" She then looks to the side. "... might have approached it differently, but… we saved children together, ribbit. A lot of them. I'm giving you the benefit of doubt over it."
Ah. That explains a lot.
"I'm… not sure if I ever cared about those children, Tsu." He says, avoiding her gaze. Did he, on some deeper level, hoped that it would make it easier for her to kill him? "I think… I've done it all for Eri. To let her have friends. To let her look at me and not see a villain. So that she'd never follow the actual me's footsteps."
"One thing you're great with even today…" Tsuyu replies. "... is lying to yourself, ribbit."
He really wishes that he could agree with her on that one thing.
(***)
His plans to attack Chronostasis laboratory next are derailed less than two hours later. His spy in the government ranks sends him a message.
Eri's convoy was attacked en route, in the middle of a forest twenty kilometers away from the facility, soon after its security guards were replaced with regular police officers and pro-heroes.
Standard procedure for the Paragon transfers. The replacement guards didn't know whom they were guarding. Pick up and drop points were different to prevent someone from trailing the Paragon facilities that way.
Having children (that might or might not be… rebellious) be guarded by police officers and pro-heroes made it certain that no local pro-hero or police patrol would ask any questions. Even if they stopped the convoy for some reason (like a villain attack) and the children tried to escape in the commotion.
The only Paragon official was the driver of the car where the kids were in. And he had perfect paperwork suggesting that the kids in question were transferred between correctional facilities. The whole escort? Yeah, you see, their parent is someone rather influential, and he wants everything to be quiet. So trust us and look the other way.
The escort didn't know what they were taking part in. This didn't stop the unidentified assailants from killing all ten police officers and three heroes assigned to that particular convoy. Akatani Eri, Katsuma Shimano and Mahoro Shimano were declared missing in the aftermath of the attack.
The board was tilted once again.
And Izuku didn't even know who was to be blamed for it.
But he knew that people were going to pay for that.,
(***)
Few hours earlier
It was raining. A downpour, really.
Barely any visibility outside of the car's window.
It wasn't all that bad, though. It made certain things much easier.
Such as not seeing what was happening outside. Or, to be exact, making Katsu and Maho not see what was happening outside, because that's what was on Eri's mind right now.
Or inside. The car's driver was slumping over the wheel, a gaping hole in the side of his head matching the one on the window, blood sprayed around.
She didn't want them to see that. They were idiots that would probably wet themselves at the first sight of a human corpse, but they were her idiots.
So, she had them hug her when she realized that the attack was incoming. She had no idea what made the driver push the brakes in panic, she didn't see that, but for some reason she knew that it wasn't a deer intruding upon the road.
He died the second the car stopped. It was staged.
Eventually the sparse firefight, human shouts drowned by the rain and sounds of quirks being used dies out.
Eri can still feel her two idiots shake in fear when someone opens the driver doors. A figure in a raincoat unbuckles seatbelts and throws the corpse out of the car. It then enters the car and closes the door behind it.
She is staring at the figure while it starts the engine (was it some sort of quirk? She saw no keys being used). When the car starts moving, the attacker takes the hood off, spraying water everywhere.
Eri expected a lot of things.
One of her father's underlings, maybe some new hire (he got a lot of new hires nowadays it seems).
Someone from the New Vigilante Alliance. She had no idea what would make one of their local cells attack that particular convoy, but dad did suspect that they had a mole somewhere high, so it wasn't off the table.
Other villains, too. She could recite name, villain name, a quirk and rough overview of their crimes for any notable villain nationwide from A-Rankers up - from memory. Her dad taught her well. And she wanted to learn everything she could from him.
But she didn't expect Neito Monoma.
"Sup, kids." The hero (what sort of hero slaughters so many police officers and other heroes?!) says, while correcting the front mirror so that he could see what they were doing behind him. "Sorry for the mess, but we're going to make a bit of a detour. Stage first is changing cars. Thankfully, mine isn't far away."
(***)
They changed cars, as Monoma said. He prepared one nearby his projected ambush site, before dumping the one he used to get them there.
Eri and her two idiots knew the drill. They were playing their 'w-what are you g-going to do to us?!' routine. Eri, naturally, acted that way first, and the Shimanos' followed suit. They could act quite well.
In short, they acted like they were kidnapped.
Which wasn't far from the truth.
Eri started to feel like some goddamn plot device instead of a person, and this pissed her off beyond comparison. She had enough of that bullshit when she was at Overhaul's mercy, treated like an object and unable to do what she wanted.
But she was good at hiding that.
Monoma was a veteran hero, with years of experience. An SS-Rank hero, if the government was willing to judge him by his skills. An SS-Rank villain, if the government knew what he was doing in his spare time. Yet, Eri Midoriya managed to take him off-guard.
"I'm going to have to ask you…" Eri says dryly, dropping her facade. "... to drop us by the nearest hero agency, mister."
It's a part of the plan. The message about the convoy attack should have already spread. If she shouts that he attacked it, there is a large chance that a brawl will start (it's not like the local heroes know Neito Monoma). They'll be able to escape in the commotion.
"And if I won't do that?" Neito replies, with a smug smile on his face, that Eri will enjoy getting rid off. "Miss Midoriya, I presume."
And with that single word - Midoriya - Monoma ups the ante. How the hell does he know that she exists while the government clearly didn't? No way he is working for her dad.
"Wouldn't you want to know, fuckboy." Eri replies dryly. "We aren't negotiating. I don't know what you're planning to do with us, but we're not going to stay around to find out. Do as I said, or we'll speak differently."
"Well, what exactly could I do with a bunch of kids I technically kidn…" Monoma sighs. "Shit, it's this again. Look, all I'm interested in is your father. You get treated like a princess while under my care, I get a way of making sure that your dad doesn't blow up anyone I love, your dad gets to do whatever bullshit he plans to without having to worry about the HPSC using you as a hostage, everyone benefits."
Sounds believable enough. Except, she is absolutely fucking done with being treated that way.
"Maho." She says. The hologram is dispersed. Hiding it under it and maintaining the illusion for so long was certainly taxing on her girlfriend (Eri will do her best to make up for that later), but in the meantime, she has an Asa Midoriya-patented Super Special Surprise (aka Hero Remover #4 and a Spicy Distraction) in her hands.
It's a pipe bomb.
"You do as I say…" Eri says, her eyes locked with Monoma's (with front mirror being a medium), and a bomb in her hands. "... or this car is going to have an accident."
Monoma smiles smugly.
"You expect me to fear a fake bomb?" Monoma sighs. "And if it was real, you wouldn't blow up a car with you and your friends inside. So, do your worst, girl."
(***)
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Monoma screams while crawling out through the broken window. The car - the one he Kuroiro prepare for him, and it wasn't cheap - is completely totalled, lying upside down in the ditch.
It's still raining intensely. But he can see the kids disappear in the forest, running as if their life depended on it.
Because after that stunt, it probably does.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU BRATS!" Monoma screams while running after them with all the speed he could achieve. He disappears in the forest soon after.
Ten seconds later Maho dispels another hologram. The one that made Eri and her friends be covered with a convincing hologram of a large rock.
"We gotta go before he comes back." Eri says, pulling her friends by their sleeves towards the forest on the other side of the road than the direction where Monoma runs after Mahoro's decoys. "C'mon."
They are going to be absolutely soaking wet by the time they get anywhere. Not even the right type of wet, sheesh.
"That was terrifying." Mahoro says after the road disappears behind the trees. "Did you really…"
"I blasted you with my quirk, set to seconds, when the explosion happened." Eri replies. "It would rewind any injuries back, unless they'd be lethal instantly, and I threw the bomb perfectly to avoid the blast doing that to you. Monoma took most of it, but he shielded himself with some shield quirk on instinct before the explosion."
"W-what about you?" Katsuma worries about her. She likes that. Yeah, she could hear faint ringing in her ears and had some light burns, but… "D-do you want me to h-heal you?"
"Not yet, we gotta get further away, just in case that asshole figured out what happened." Eri replies. "He is a half-wit compared to my dad, but still better than zero-wits that populate the hero society nowad…"
The rain stops. Or, to be exact, she still hears the sound of rain, but only from a distance.
She turned her head back. Neito Monoma is standing there in his stupid fucking raincoat, smiling smugly. But it's the angry type of smug this time around.
The rain stopped around them. Some sort of quirk, but what exactly? An invisible shield above their heads?
"So, I'm a half-wit, huh." Monoma sighs. "Well, I guess I'm going to take that personally. And stop playing nicely. Congratulations, you made me treat you like an equal."
He closes the distance in the heartbeat and gut punches Eri, almost strongly enough to send her flying. She takes a few steps back and falls onto her knees, forced to watch as he takes down her friends.
Non-lethally. But he is fast, way too fast. He knows their quirks now, he knows that Eri was the only combat threat (hence taking her out first). He touches Mahoro and Katsuma's hands, activating some quirk. There is a faint reddish light for a second, and they both drop to their knees, clearly dazed.
"W-what did you do to them?" Eri replies, ignoring the flinches of pain.
"You know what's my quirk, don't you?" Neito asks. She nods. Her dad told her about his former classmates and schoolmates in general. She analyzed their quirks with him. "It was a Class-Four once. Then it awakened to Class-Five one. It's no longer me being able to use quirks for five minutes since I copied them. It's me being able to use every copied quirk for five minutes, regardless of the time that passed since I copied them."
Her eyes shot wide. That… explains a lot, and ups his threat level immensely. Monoma now can…
"And then, well, war is a harsh time to live." Monoma continues. "Harsh time to live is a good time for quirk awakening. I assure you, Miss Midoriya, that I was extremely surprised when my quirk awakened once more. And how exactly can a quirk such as my Copy evolve when becoming a Class-Six quirk?" He glances at Mahoro and Katsuma. "I guess your friends will be able to tell us."
"E-Eri…" Mahoro lets out. She is still on her knees, hunched forward and staring down at her hands. But then, she looks at her girlfriend. In her eyes, shock and horror. "I-I can't feel my quirk."
No.
No, this isn't possible.
Eri refuses, just refuses to believe in the implications. She refuses to believe that the world has gone mad to this degree.
But when Eri looks back at Monoma, she can see a miniature hologram of herself floating above his right hand. And the green light of Katsuma's quirk coming from his left hand.
"Good girls…" Neito says dryly. "... get their friends' quirks back, Miss Midoriya."
(***)
On another continent, good things happen.
A man meets his wife once more, and tells her that this time he is back forever - because two hours long videochats every day just weren't enough and he really is looking forward to living with her - and their two brats - permanently. A lot of tears are shed.
Elsewhere, an old building bought and restored with All for One's money is about to change into an orphanage, run by several friends from the same villainous organizations. Friends that at this point all but adopted the kids they were tasked to care for.
There were more kids about to reach the country on another plane, with an old captain and a former hero leading them. It wasn't going to be easy, but there were enough recent political emigrants from Japan to take at least temporary care of them before the orphanage in question would be expanded.
A family of a certain gravity-manipulating villain was going to be there soon, to help in that. And they were probably going to adopt at least some of those children themselves, to fill their home - so empty nowadays - a little.
But in Japan? In Japan things were going from bad to worse.
Days until the Second Battle of the Marukane Ward:
18